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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. foot — a measure
  3. press — a publisher
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. press — to push
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. current — electric
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. scale — size or range
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. rest — a break
  13. scale — in music
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. rest — what's left
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. cold — an illness
  19. pitch — completely
  20. press — newspapers
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. current — happening now
  23. rest — what's left
  24. current — of water

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com